National Book Award-winning Novelist Appearing at Oklahoma Christian

Friday, Oct 7, 2011

Alice McDermott, author of six novels and winner of the National Book Award, will participate in symposia and deliver the 7th annual McBride Lecture for Faith and Literature on Oct. 7 at 7:30 p.m. in the Gaylord University Center on the campus of Oklahoma Christian University. During her visit to Oklahoma, McDermott also will meet with writing teachers and students from University of Central Oklahoma and Oklahoma City University.

“Alice McDermott is an artist whose novels are loved for many reasons, including their ability to capture the poignancy of American life – whether an alcoholic and his family in Charming Billy, or the spiritual nature of life and death in After This. She will be sharing generously with writers, teachers, and the community during her visit” said Dr. Scott LaMascus, director of the McBride Center for Faith and Literature.

McDermott is Johns Hopkins University’s Richard A. Macksey Professor of the Humanities and author of many novels. She lives in the Washington, D.C. area with her husband and is the mother of two children.

While in Oklahoma City, McDermott will participate in writers’ workshops with acclaimed novelist Rilla Askew, author of award-winning novels Mercy Seat and Fire in Buelah. Askew is writer in residence at the University of Central Oklahoma. Dr. Terry Phelps of the Oklahoma City University writing faculty also will be presenting a workshop and bringing students to the symposia. The writing workshops will be coordinated by Dr. Rebecca Briley, professor of writing at Oklahoma Christian.

Seating is limited but the evening lecture is free and open to the public at 7:30 p.m. in the Gaylord University Center on the campus of Oklahoma Christian University, 2501 E. Memorial Road. The lecture will be followed by a free book-signing reception, with book sales provided by Best of Books, an independent bookseller located in Kickingbird Square, Edmond.

“We are delighted to share Alice McDermott with our colleagues at UCO and OCU,” said LaMascus.

This program is the 7th in a series which has been funded by an endowment provided by McBride family members and OC alumni in Honor of Bailey and Joyce McBride. Bailey McBride, Ph.D., has taught English at Oklahoma Christian since 1956 and was the university’s chief academic officer for more than 20 years. He is a member of the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame. Annual support and/or endowment funding has been provided for the series and the McBride Center by funding partners including the Oklahoma Humanities Council (OHC) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH); the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation of Manhattan, N.Y.; the Oklahoma City Community Foundation; the Inasmuch Foundation; and Best of Books. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in the program do not necessarily represent those of the OC or the funding partners.